# Wisconsin's 68th Assembly district

The 68th Assembly district of Wisconsin is one of 99 districts in the Wisconsin State Assembly. Located in northwestern Wisconsin, the district comprises all of Price and Rusk counties, and most of Chippewa and Taylor counties. It includes the cities of Bloomer, Cornell, Ladysmith, Park Falls, and Phillips, and the villages of Bruce, Catawba, Conrath, Gilman, Glen Flora, Hawkins, Ingram, Kennan, Lublin, Prentice, Rib Lake, Sheldon, Tony, and Weyerhaeuser. The district also contains Lake Wissota State Park, Brunet Island State Park, and Timms Hill—the highest natural point in the state of Wisconsin. The district is represented by Republican Rob Summerfield, since January 2025; Summerfield previously represented the 67th district from 2017 to 2025.
The 68th Assembly district is located within Wisconsin's 23rd Senate district, along with the 67th and 69th Assembly districts.
* Timms Hill
* Lake Wissota State Park
* Phillips, Wisconsin
* Prentice, Wisconsin
* Brunet Island State Park

## History

The district was created in the 1972 redistricting act (1971 Wisc. Act 304) which first established the numbered district system, replacing the previous system which allocated districts to specific counties. The 68th district was drawn mostly in line with the former Eau Claire County 1st district (most of the city of Eau Claire), but added all of the remaining precincts of the city of Eau Claire. The last representative of the Eau Claire County 1st district, Joseph Looby, went on to win the first election to represent the 68th Assembly district.
The district boundaries have shifted over the various redistricting schemes since 1983, though the district had remained anchored on the city of Eau Claire until the controversial 2011 redistricting plan (2011 Wisc. Act 43) which divided the city between the 68th and 91st Assembly districts, and added vast stretches of Clark County and parts of Jackson and Trempealeau counties to the 68th district. Under the 2022 court-ordered redistricting, barely any of the city of Eau Claire remains in this district. The 2024 redistricting completely removed the district from Eau Claire County, shifting it north to rural Chippewa, Rusk, Price, and Taylor counties.

## List of past representatives

List of representatives to the Wisconsin State Assembly from the 68th district :
| Member | Party | Residence | Counties represented | Term start | Term end |
| District created |||||||
| Joseph Looby | Dem. | Eau Claire | Chippewa, Eau Claire | January 1, 1973 | January 1, 1979 |
| William P. Gagin | Rep. | Eau Claire | Chippewa, Eau Claire | January 1, 1979 | January 5, 1981 |
| Joseph Looby | Dem. | Eau Claire | Chippewa, Eau Claire | January 5, 1981 | January 3, 1983 |
| John M. Young | Rep. | Brookfield | Milwaukee, Waukesha | January 3, 1983 | January 7, 1985 |
| Joseph Looby | Dem. | Eau Claire | Chippewa, Eau Claire, Taylor | January 7, 1985 | January 2, 1989 |
| David Zien | Rep. | Eau Claire | Chippewa, Eau Claire, Taylor | January 2, 1989 | April 12, 1993 |
| --Vacant-- | --Vacant-- | --Vacant-- | Chippewa, Eau Claire | April 12, 1993 | July 9, 1993 |
| David Plombon | Dem. | Stanley | Chippewa, Eau Claire | July 9, 1993 | January 6, 1997 |
| Chuck Schafer | Rep. | Lafayette | Chippewa, Eau Claire | January 6, 1997 | January 4, 1999 |
| Larry Balow | Dem. | Eau Claire | Chippewa, Eau Claire | January 4, 1999 | January 3, 2005 |
| Terry Moulton | Rep. | Chippewa Falls | Chippewa, Eau Claire | January 3, 2005 | January 5, 2009 |
| Kristen Dexter | Dem. | Eau Claire | Chippewa, Eau Claire | January 5, 2009 | January 3, 2011 |
| Kathy Bernier | Rep. | Chippewa Falls | Chippewa, Clark, Eau Claire, Jackson, Trempealeau | January 3, 2011 | January 7, 2019 |
| Jesse L. James | Rep. | Altoona | Chippewa, Clark, Eau Claire, Jackson, Trempealeau | January 7, 2019 | January 2, 2023 |
| Karen Hurd | Rep. | Fall Creek | Chippewa, Clark, Eau Claire | January 3, 2023 | January 6, 2025 |
| Rob Summerfield | Rep. | Bloomer | Chippewa, Price, Rusk, Taylor | January 6, 2025 | Current |

## Electoral history

| Year | Date | Elected | Elected | Elected | Elected | Defeated | Defeated | Defeated | Defeated | Total | Plurality | Other primary candidates |
| 1972 | Nov. 7 | Joseph Looby | Democratic | 12,599 | 59.07% | David Duax | Rep. | 8,730 | 40.93% | 21,329 | 3,869 | |
| 1974 | Nov. 5 | Joseph Looby (inc.) | Democratic | 9,507 | 90.00% | Joseph L. Larson | Amer. | 1,056 | 10.00% | 10,563 | 8,451 | |
| 1976 | Nov. 2 | Joseph Looby (inc.) | Democratic | 13,263 | 61.14% | Gerald R. Ritsch | Rep. | 8,430 | 38.86% | 21,693 | 4,833 | Roger C. Wold (Dem.)Anthony J. LaChappelle (Rep.)Joseph L. Larson (Rep.) |
| 1978 | Nov. 7 | William P. Gagin | Republican | 7,382 | 50.10% | Joseph Looby (inc.) | Dem. | 7,353 | 49.90% | 14,735 | 29 | |
| 1980 | Nov. 4 | Joseph Looby | Democratic | 13,398 | 57.20% | William P. Gagin (inc.) | Rep. | 10,025 | 42.80% | 23,423 | 3,373 | Mark D. Lewis (Dem.)Martin A. Grindeland (Dem.) |
| 1982 | Nov. 2 | John M. Young | Republican | 11,210 | 100.00% | | | | | 11,210 | 11,210 | Jerome P. Delfeld (Rep.) |
| 1984 | Nov. 6 | Joseph Looby | Democratic | 12,878 | 63.14% | Allan G. Brown | Rep. | 7,518 | 36.86% | 20,396 | 5,360 | |
| 1986 | Nov. 4 | Joseph Looby (inc.) | Democratic | 7,470 | 50.82% | David A. Zien | Rep. | 7,228 | 49.18% | 14,698 | 242 | Norman Gillette (Rep.) |
| 1988 | Nov. 8 | David A. Zien | Republican | 11,093 | 52.65% | Joseph Looby (inc.) | Dem. | 9,978 | 47.35% | 21,071 | 1,115 | Douglas A. Kranig (Rep.) |
| 1990 | Nov. 6 | David A. Zien (inc.) | Republican | 8,337 | 52.92% | Colleen A. Bates | Dem. | 7,416 | 47.08% | 15,753 | 921 | |
| 1992 | Nov. 3 | David A. Zien (inc.) | Republican | 13,466 | 53.40% | Colleen A. Bates | Dem. | 11,752 | 46.60% | 25,218 | 1,714 | Richard Postlewaite (Dem.) |
| 1993 | June 29 | David Plombon | Democratic | 4,161 | 51.05% | Wayne E. Laufenberg | Rep. | 3,990 | 48.95% | 8,151 | 171 | Louis P. Hebert Jr. (Dem.)Howard J. Ludwigson (Rep.)Fred S. Poquette (Rep.)Charles G. Barlow (Rep.)Maynard Hopkins (Rep.)Paul M. Pettis (Rep.) |
| 1994 | Nov. 8 | David Plombon (inc.) | Democratic | 7,750 | 50.12% | Wayne E. Laufenberg | Rep. | 7,217 | 46.67% | 15,464 | 533 | Darold E. Wall (Dem.)Frank Lach (Dem.)Kevin J. Dickinson (Rep.) |
| 1994 | Nov. 8 | David Plombon (inc.) | Democratic | 7,750 | 50.12% | Mark S. Lawrence | Ind. | 497 | 3.21% | 15,464 | 533 | Darold E. Wall (Dem.)Frank Lach (Dem.)Kevin J. Dickinson (Rep.) |
| 1996 | Nov. 5 | Chuck Schafer | Republican | 11,010 | 53.01% | David Plombon (inc.) | Dem. | 9,758 | 46.99% | 20,768 | 1,252 | Steve Kaste (Dem.)Jeffrey Wood (Rep.)Violet M. Dawes (Rep.) |
| 1998 | Nov. 3 | Larry Balow | Democratic | 8,210 | 51.42% | Chuck Schafer (inc.) | Rep. | 7,758 | 48.58% | 15,968 | 452 | |
| 2000 | Nov. 7 | Larry Balow (inc.) | Democratic | 12,909 | 53.47% | Howard J. Ludwigson | Rep. | 11,205 | 46.41% | 24,143 | 1,704 | Violet M. Dawes (Rep.) |
| 2002 | Nov. 5 | Larry Balow (inc.) | Democratic | 9,341 | 51.27% | Terry Moulton | Rep. | 8,858 | 48.62% | 18,218 | 483 | |
| 2004 | Nov. 2 | Terry Moulton | Republican | 16,665 | 54.09% | Joe Bee Xiong | Dem. | 14,094 | 45.74% | 30,810 | 2,571 | |
| 2006 | Nov. 7 | Terry Moulton (inc.) | Republican | 11,143 | 51.24% | Michael A. Turner | Dem. | 10,594 | 48.71% | 21,747 | 549 | |
| 2008 | Nov. 4 | Kristen Dexter | Democratic | 15,437 | 50.35% | Terry Moulton (inc.) | Rep. | 15,165 | 49.47% | 30,657 | 272 | |
| 2010 | Nov. 2 | Kathy Bernier | Republican | 10,765 | 50.15% | Kristen Dexter (inc.) | Dem. | 10,673 | 49.73% | 21,464 | 92 | |
| 2012 | Nov. 6 | Kathy Bernier (inc.) | Republican | 13,758 | 52.39% | Judy Smriga | Dem. | 12,482 | 47.53% | 26,263 | 1,276 | |
| 2014 | Nov. 4 | Kathy Bernier (inc.) | Republican | 11,289 | 52.82% | Jeff Peck | Dem. | 10,076 | 47.15% | 21,371 | 1,213 | |
| 2016 | Nov. 8 | Kathy Bernier (inc.) | Republican | 15,628 | 58.05% | Howard White | Dem. | 11,263 | 41.83% | 26,923 | 4,365 | |
| 2018 | Nov. 6 | Jesse L. James | Republican | 14,129 | 57.59% | Wendy Sue Johnson | Dem. | 10,394 | 42.37% | 24,533 | 3,735 | |
| 2020 | Nov. 3 | Jesse L. James (inc.) | Republican | 18,993 | 60.95% | Emily Berge | Dem. | 12,162 | 39.03% | 31,162 | 6,831 | |
| 2020 | Nov. 8 | Karen Hurd | Republican | 14,338 | 60.68% | Nate Otto | Dem. | 9,273 | 39.25% | 23,627 | 5,065 | Hillarie Roth (Rep.) Chris Connell (Rep.) |